MEXICO-U.S. SIGN HISTORIC COLORADO RIVER DEAL

Supply pact hailed as turn from conflict to compromise

The United States and Mexico on Tuesday signed a landmark pact designed to bring more stability to water supplies from the Colorado River and deliver fresh flows to help rejuvenate the once-lush delta wetlands just south of the border.

Water officials and environmentalists hailed the agreement as a milestone in U.S.-Mexico relations that promises immediate and sweeping benefits. They said it also sets precedence for future alliances in a region historically known more for conflict than compromise.

“It will help ease turmoil along the river,” said Halla Razak, who tracks Colorado River issues for the San Diego County Water Authority. “This will have a monumental effect.”

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and high-ranking Mexican federal authorities witnessed the accord-signing during a ceremony held at the Hotel del Coronado.

“We are not just neighbors with Mexico, we are true partners,” said U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Michael Connor.

José Luis Luege, head of Mexico’s National Water Commission, called it “the beginning of a new stage in water relations” between the two countries.

The pact is more pilot than permanent, extending just five years until it has to be reopened. It establishes a number of policies for both sides, including defining rights to Lake Mead water, repairing the earthquake-damaged irrigation network in the Mexicali Valley and guaranteeing flows for fish and wildlife in the Mexican delta.

“Even though we are two separate nations, we do share one water supply,” said Jeanine Jones, California’s principal expert on the river. “We do have to work together to get better together.”

Salazar said the agreement shows an evolution toward cooperation between all parties with a stake in the Colorado River and could act as an “international model” for other river-sharing negotiations, such as those involving the Rio Grande.

“We have chosen collaboration over conflict,” he said.

Salazar cited several looming challenges that the pact is meant to address. Growth is one. Another is climate change, which scientists said is taking a toll on the entire Colorado River system by prolonging dry spells.

“We are connected by our alliance on the Colorado River, and together we face the risk of reduced supplies in the years ahead,” he said.

The agreement, formally known as Minute 319, will be carried out under the overarching 1944 U.S.-Mexico water treaty. It was negotiated through U.S. and Mexican sections of the International Boundary and Water Commission, a U.S.-Mexico panel created to address border issues.

U.S. Commissioner Edward Drusina said the agreement will help authorities in both nations gain insights for future agreements to “better manage water resources on the Colorado River for decades to come.”

But not everyone is on board.

The Imperial Irrigation District, which holds legal rights to three-fourths of California’s allocation of Colorado River water, refused to endorse the deal. It deadlocked on Nov. 16 with a 2-2 vote. The board was split because of its concerns that there has been considerable resistance from the Metropolitan Water District to the Imperial district’s efforts to bank surplus water in Lake Mead.

What does it mean for California?

The giant Metropolitan Water District, which provides part of the San Diego region’s water supply, will have access to a 47,000-acre-foot share of the water created by conservation efforts on the Mexico side over the next five years. Metropolitan will pay $5 million for that water.

“It helps firm up our Colorado River supplies and it brings to the table another important partner in Mexico,” said Jeff Kightlinger, general manager for Metropolitan.

The agency and the San Diego County Water Authority also expect to receive “credits” for their role in improving the delta. That way, the two entities may be relieved of some pressures to mitigate environmental impacts caused by various river diversions and transfers on the U.S. side.

“The opportunities to do environmental restoration are probably better in Mexico. It’s less developed, with natural terrain,” Kightlinger said.

The accord also includes language pledging to pursue desalination projects in Mexico. One of those is in Rosarito Beach, Baja California, and includes the San Diego County Water Authority as a partner.

What does it mean for Mexico?

For Mexico, the pact is important for its economy and environment.

A central element involves extending an emergency humanitarian agreement set to expire next year that allows that country to store some of its unused river allocation in Lake Mead. Mexico has struggled to repair its water delivery network that was ripped apart by an Easter 2010 earthquake and forcing growers in the Mexicali Valley to fallow thousands of acres.

As part of the pact, Mexico will receive $21 million for water projects. Most of it will go to repair those damaged canals, pumps and other irrigation improvements. In return, the U.S. side is guaranteed about 124,000 acre feet of water created by the new system’s efficiencies.

Mexico will also have the right to draw additional water beyond its 1.5 million acre-feet allocation if Lake Mead fills above a certain level. Conversely, Mexico will have its allocations reduced if Lake Mead shrinks much farther.

There is also language pledging both countries to provide “expedited consideration” to resolving issues that may arise should an agency submit plans to build a diversion connected to the All-American Canal in the Imperial Valley so water could be delivered to Mexico’s Colorado River-Tijuana aqueduct in an emergency.

What does it mean for the Mexican delta?

For the delta, environmentalists say the pact is history-making. The delta has been going thirsty for years because of upstream diversion, putting in peril a rich vein of wildlife. As a result, stretches are more desert that riparian, and habitat for migratory waterfowl and other wildlife has been spotty.

“Working together to find solutions rather than going through conflict is really exciting,” said Osvel Hinojosa, director of the water and wetlands program for Pronatura Noroeste, one of the leading environmental groups involved in negotiating the agreement.

The United States, Mexico and environmental groups will jointly provide enough water, about 106,000 acre feet, to mimic a flood event that scientists believe will ultimately help replenish the delta.

Following that, the various parties will continue providing set amounts of base flows to keep the delta from drying up again, at least during the five-year life of the pilot program.

This element “is very important in that it’s not only the delivery of the water but a test to see how the system responds hydrologically and ecologically,” Hinojosa said.

In the United States, Jennifer Pitt, who worked on the pact for the Environmental Defense Fund, described the accord as “groundbreaking.”

“Restoration will be critical to all wildlife in the Sonoran Desert, where the river is really an oasis,” Pitt said. “It is also critical to the communities that have lost their connection to the river.”